Doha talks will be difficult, tough decisions needed: Abdullah

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Kabul, Sep 18 (IANS) Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, has said that the talks between government and the Taliban will be difficult, stating that the Afghan team will face issues that will require hard decisions to be made.

"I don't say that these talks will be very simple, these talks will be very hard. We will face issues that will need hard decisions to be made," TOLO News quoted Abdullah as saying in a statement on Thursday.

"But the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has gone to Qatar with the support of the government and politicians," he added.

Abdullah also pledged that all the achievements of the last 20 years will be preserved during the negotiations.

"Citizens' rights, women's rights, human rights, victims' and minorities' rights, justice and freedoms that were achieved through many sacrifices, will be preserved in these talks," he said.

Meanwhile, Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar has said that Kabul considers reaching a ceasefire a "key step" in the negotiations, reports TOLO News.

"To achieve a lasting peace, we consider the ceasefire a fundamental step, and peace can be secure when it guarantees the preservation of the country's independence and territorial integrity," said Atmar.

This comes as contact groups of Afghan government and the Taliban continue their discussions about the procedural structure of the talks in Doha.

A member of the Afghan delegation told TOLO News on Thursday that there was a possibility the two sides will finalize their discussions on the procedures by Saturday.

Naming the cause of the war in Afghanistan is said to be one of the key points of contention between the negotiating teams.

--IANS

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